College of DuPage president who took over after predecessor’s firing is leaving for Navy job

Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune

Ann Rondeau speaks in 2016, when she became the president of College of DuPage. On Wednesday, it was announced she will leave the college in December to become president of the Naval Postgraduate School in California.

Ann Rondeau speaks in 2016, when she became the president of College of DuPage. On Wednesday, it was announced she will leave the college in December to become president of the Naval Postgraduate School in California. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)

Staff reportChicago Tribune

The president of the College of DuPage, who helped lead the school out of a series of scandals that occurred during her predecessor’s tenure, has announced her resignation.

Ann Rondeau, a retired vice admiral in the U.S. Navy, will leave the west suburban college in December to become president of the Naval Postgraduate School in California, Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer announced Wednesday.

Rondeau took over as COD’s sixth president in 2016 following a period of turmoil at the state’s largest community college that culminated in the firing of her predecessor, Robert Breuder, and the school being placed on probation by the agency that accredited it.

Those developments occurred after a series of Tribune investigations revealed questionable spending and lax financial oversight.

The Higher Learning Commission removed the school from probation last year and allowed it to keep its accreditation after saying the college, under Rondeau’s leadership, had adequately reversed its lack of compliance with the commission’s criteria for institutional integrity and effective governance.

“I am deeply humbled that I assume this extraordinary honor and privilege of continued leadership service,” Rondeau said in a prepared statement. “I have so much respect, affection and affinity for our College of DuPage community and our District 502 residents. We are a remarkable place and we have remarkable people working with dedication in the honorable and diligent mission of teaching and learning.”

Prior to joining COD, Rondeau was a consultant with IBM Watson Group and president of the National Defense University. And she previously was commander of the Naval Service Training Command at Naval Station Great Lakes in Lake County.

Rondeau was initially hired by COD in 2016 with a one-year contract with a base salary of $325,000.

The college’s board of trustees will discuss plans to name an interim president at their next meeting Tuesday.